Hello there!
I've recently had an unexpected influx of new followers (thank you very much!) I thought I'd do a bit of an introduction as the Historical Firearms account is a little faceless with just the logo!
Bear with me, I'm British & I find this stuff a bit awkward!
My name is Matthew Moss, I'm a small arms historian. I specialise in the history of the development & use of firearms & other weapons. I have a degree in history and a Masters in military history. I've been writing about small arms history now for about a decade.
I began posting articles on my blog, Historical Firearms, back in 2013 and have since written for publications like Small Arms Review, TFB, Silah Report, Overt Defense, The Armourer and Janes.
In 2017, I launched The Armourer's Bench - a video project with my friend Vic Tuff. We've been making in-depth videos on firearms, tanks & aircraft ever since.
We've looked at everything from the HK G11 to the Ferguson Rifle! armourersbench.com youtube.com/c/TheArmourers…
A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of being a research fellow at the Cody Firearms Museum in Wyoming exploring the role of the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. during the First World War.
My monograph on this is coming soon!
I've written several books, one on the Sterling Submachine Gun and most recently one on the British anti-tank weapon the PIAT! #BringUpThePIAT
Available here: historicalfirearms.info/shop
I also co-host on the Fighting On Film war movie podcast with my friend @RM_Mili_History. We launched the show last year and it has been ridiculously good fun!
So there we are, sorry for rambling! Now you know a little more about me & hopefully I'm less of a faceless account. I'm busy working on several new book projects but my biggest ongoing project is definitely TAB, so please do check us out - youtube.com/c/TheArmourers…
Oh and of course if you enjoy my articles and videos you can help support my work by picking up a sticker or something at the Historical Firearms shop or through the TAB Patreon here - patreon.com/thearmourersbe…
Thanks for reading this far! - Matt
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Seeing more and more visual evidence of shotgun use against drones. Here's a member of the 53rd Mechanised Brigade firing a 12ga 870-pattern shotgun at a Mavic-type drone.
Source:
#UkraineRussiaWar #SALW #Ukraine
I'll emphasise that engaging a generic quadcopter drone is still pretty difficult even with a skilled shooter and the right choke and cartridge type. But it is the one kinetic method that can be put into action right now.
Have spoken to UA armed forces personnel who have pushed for issuing of shotguns at platoon & squad level for trench use and anti-UAV. 1/
While identifying use of SMArt 155 in videos is often difficult due to resolution, camera angle and framing one clear indication of their use in #Ukraine are the jettisoned parachutes and ballutes which arrest the submunitions flight. 1/
SMArt 155 is one of two 155mm munitions (the other being BONUS) that contain a pair of submunitions capable of scanning the target area and firing down on targets. Below is a cutaway of the round with the two submunitions inside. 2/
This clip from GWIS (the manufacturer) shows how the ballute and parachute slow the slight of the submunition to allow it to find its target. 3/
Yesterday I shared a video looking at the use of FN FALs in #Ukraine. Both fixed stock 50.00s and folding stock 50.61s have been seen in theatre. 1/
The PARA FALs began to appear in October with photos of crates of them shared. These are 50.61s which have a folding stock but full length barrel. Their exact origin is unclear but there's some interesting theories and leads I'm still investigating. Belgium is 1 likely source. 2/
I was able to speak with several Ukrainian servicemen who have been equipped with the FAL - one loved it, one hated it.
Check out their thoughts/insights here: armourersbench.com/2023/02/24/rig… 3/
The UK-led OP Interflex is training 20,000 Ukrainian troops in 2023, just over 10k last year. They are providing basic infantry training, for this they need rifles.
The latest of these are Bulgarian Arsenal AR-M9Fs in 5.56x45mm. Here's why that's interesting... 1/
January saw the first photos of Ukrainian troops with these Bulgarian AKs shared by UK, Australian & Canadian defence departments. They join a plethora of 7.62x39mm AK pattern rifles procured last year.
More on that here: armourersbench.com/2022/07/25/uk-… 2/
What's most interesting is that the new rifles come with Blank Firing Adaptors for use in manoeuvre training/drills. Until now we'd seen Ukr troops training with British L85A2s - probably because of a lack of 7.62x39 blank & BFAs
It uses the spigot mortar principle (a bit like the PIAT, but the spigot is fixed so its more like the Blacker Bombard) coupled with the captive piston principle where the gases are retained in the bomb tail. 2/
Developed by the central research institute Burevestnik, it is manned by a two man team and can be transported in a backpack. 3/
Remember the MT-12 mounted on the MT-LB? Now thanks to Ukraine's @U24_gov_ua we have some footage of an older 100mm T-12 AT gun mounted on another MT-LB. This one appears not to have any protection for the gun crew.
While this version doesn't have the armour shield of earlier version, it does have the rear support struts at the back of the vehicle. (IIRC one example of these improvised vehicles hasn't had them). The T-12 and M-12 share the same ammunition.